General Response – Rationale for Application Process

Prepared by Tim DeSchriver/Matthew Robinson

Associate Professors

Sport Management Program

The rationale for the application process and criteria for acceptance into the Sport Management major is twofold. First, nationally and here at UD, Sport Management has become a very popular program of study. Some universities have as many as 500-600 undergraduate majors. At UD, there are more students with an interest in the program than the program is able to accommodate. For example, there are currently 60-65 freshman/transfer students who are classified as Sport Management Interest students. Unfortunately, given the current size of the SM faculty (2 full-time faculty) the program can not accept that number of students into the major on an annual basis. The major needs to be restricted due to the ability to offer only a limited number of courses. Additionally, the faculty advisement load would be extraordinarily high. Currently, each faculty member advises approximately 35 students. This number would increase significantly if the additional students were added to the major.

Secondly, SM majors are required to take 4 courses (ACCT200, BUAD100, FINC200, and ECON100) from outside of the Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences. Under the current agreement with the School of Business, approximately 25 seats per year are reserved in these courses for SM majors each year. If the number of students in the major was not restricted, it is likely that it would be extremely difficult for those students to enroll in the required Business courses listed above. Thus, the SM program initiated an application process to select SM interest students for acceptance into the major. The current acceptance criteria is based on a written essay, GPA, GPA in predictor courses, and volunteer/work./community experiences but is not presented in the Course Catalog.. This proposal will communicate the application process and criteria for acceptance to the students.

The process is loosely patterned after the process that has been developed, and is currently in place, for the Athletic Training major, also housed in the Department of HNES. The potential to add additional students to the major does exist for the future, but it would need to be accompanied by a significant increase in faculty resources toward the SM program.

The following are responses to the specific questions put forth by the committee.

1. What is the importance of the volunteer/work/community experience requirement for the major?

Based on the limited number of students that may be admitted to the major on an annual basis these experiences (along with the other 3 criteria) are critical in evaluating the intent, motivation, understanding, and commitment of an applicant. Through these activities the SM interest student is given the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the SM major and to having a career orientation toward the sport management industry. It is also an opportunity for the student to explore the career and determine if in fact it is a major and career they wish to pursue. The volunteer/work/community experience also allows the SM faculty another tool for evaluating a student’s initiative, timeliness, professionalism, and ability to work with others. In the end both the program and student are offered the opportunity to evaluate if there is a fit.

2. Why is this proposed as criteria for admission to the program? Answered above.

3. How is the volunteer/work/community experience to be evaluated?

Throughout the Sport Management interest year, students are provided multiple opportunities to have volunteer/work/community/campus experiences. For example, SM interest students may serve as volunteers at UD athletic events. The SM faculty works closely with representatives from the UD Athletic Department to foster volunteer experiences. In the past, these experiences have included the sale of chairback seats at football contests, involvement in promotional/marketing activities at UD sporting events, and service as team student managers. Within the SM program, monthly speaker/information sessions are organized. Attendance, which is not mandatory but strongly suggested, is tracked at these events. The SM program also hosts several other events each year such as the Hens Hardwood Classic 3 on 3 basketball tournament where the SM interest students are provided with volunteer opportunities. Attendance and quality of performance at these events is tracked by the SM faculty members and a graduate assistant who is assigned to the SM program. Additionally, input is solicited from representatives of the UD Athletic Department on the quality of student volunteerism.

Students may also initiate volunteer/work/community experiences on their own. For example, we have had SM interest students who have volunteered or worked for local sport organizations such as the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The SM faculty looks favorably on any experiences such as those when evaluating an SM interest student. Lastly, the student has the opportunity to provide important information regarding theses experiences through the application essay that must be completed.

4. What is the specific criterion by which the quality of the experience is to be judged?

Criterion includes participation (through tracking of attendance) demonstration of initiative/effort, timeliness, professionalism, and ability to work with others. Sport Management is an extremely difficult and competitive field to enter as a career/profession. The SM faculty is looking for students who demonstrate an understanding of the commitment that is necessary to be successful in the major.

5. What are the criteria by which the required essays are to be evaluated?

Each essay will be read by the Sport Management faculty members. Each reader will assign a score of 1 to 5 for the essay (1 being excellent, 5 being poor). The average of these scores will be used as the final essay score for that student. The following criteria will be used to judge the overall quality of the essay.

1. Communication of reasons for interest in the major
2. Communication of career interest/orientation
3. Communication of past experiences related to sport mgt. (Volunteer/Work/Campus/Community)
4. Writing ability (Spelling, Grammar, etc.)

These criteria will be presented to the students prior to when they begin to write the essay. This is easily done through communication in the HESC 202 Foundations of Sport Management course that is required for all Sport Management interest students.

6. Are the students going to be able to have access to a rubric so that they know how their essays are to be judged?

As stated above, the rubric of criteria (4 criteria above) will be presented to the students in the HESC 202 Foundations of Sport Management course that is required for all Sport Management interest students. This rubric will also be available on the course website.